Welcome back to Stella Oak Mavens! Today we hear from Hiram Chodosh, President of Claremont McKenna College, a highly competitive liberal arts university located in Southern California. Tune in to hear Hiram eloquently describe his journey in education, path to law, advice to graduating college students, and much more.
Welcome back to Stella Oak Mavens! Today we hear from Hiram Chodosh, President of Claremont McKenna College, a highly competitive liberal arts university located in Southern California. Tune in to hear Hiram eloquently describe his journey in education, path to law, advice to graduating college students, and much more.
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this episode is brought to you with the help from Powertech Fitness, a global leader and premier strength equipment celebrating over 20 years of being committed to stronger lives. Please visit them on Facebook, Instagram or the website at www dot powertech dot com. Good morning, everyone. This is Brandon Matt Lof in Los Angeles. Welcome to the Stella Oak Mavens podcast, where we feature different mavens in different fields. A maven is an expert of an expert there, the go to person who you would want to ask all the questions to before making a decision. The purpose of our podcast is to help the consumer be more knowledgeable. Today. I'm really excited to host Hiram Chode ish Hiram graduate from Muscling University with a degree in history and then pursued his law degree at Yale. After practicing law for a few years, Hiram left to pursue teaching and eventually reached his position as the fifth president of Claremont McKenna College. During his time as president, that college has raised over 135 million for the student imperative, which I'm excited to learn about. That is a scholarship in a financial aid program for students and opened three new centers for college today. Hiram will be sharing his experiences and the decisions he made to get where he is today and what inspired him. Welcome home.
spk_1: 1:20
Thank you, Brennan.
spk_0: 1:22
So
spk_1: 1:22
happy to be here.
spk_0: 1:24
Great to have you. So what? What is the The advice that you typically give graduating seniors as they begin the work force
spk_1: 1:37
when graduates are first entering the workforce and taking on their job, they're understandably nervous and insecure, worried about what they're going to do, what it's gonna be like, how they can be successful and that nervousness often put them in a position where they're focused on the gallops and doing the right thing and not thinking steak. And one of the pieces of advice that I give recent graduates is to put their attention on others and to try to figure out what the people they're working for need from them and how the wine, their work in the most positive way with what is needed from them and that will help often take attention away from themselves and put it on those around them by asking lots of questions about what people they're working for, really value and how they want things done and to just let their curiosity flow over that with lots of questions, but also to align their energy investment and their herbs that they expend every day with what their employers with that organization needs and what its mission in the war.
spk_0: 2:51
What's interesting about that is, as you know, we're always interviewing new people to come work at our firm. And, you know, if they focus on their resume in their background, which is usually a couple years of volunteer experience here exactly where there usually it's not that impressive when they're in school. And so I'm always more impressed when they start asking us a lot more questions about our goal and what drives us. So it sounds like you're referring them to the same thing that is interesting for employers to hear about. So when you're when you're kind of giving this advice and you're saying, Hey, focus on the companies, are you telling them to do research before they go on a job interview about the companies that are working for
spk_1: 3:36
well, well, research is always good, but I think it's the focus of what the social or other product is that the company or employers trying to produce, I think the month that gets walked in the A menu sha of the job or the internal administrative hierarchy of the job. So, for example, I was you know, I worked before I went to law school. But when I started as a young lawyer, I felt it was very important that I view my tell that is working for the client and not just for the park. If you take on a position where you're working on Lee for the partner, you lose sight of what they're trying to do together for the client. And I found out an empowering way too focused on the service that I was expected to provide. And also it took pressure off of that hierarchical relationship where I was much more ready and able to challenge authority to challenge assumptions, to take responsibility, because my goal was not just working for the partner, but providing a really high quality solution to acquire
spk_0: 4:55
Was this something that you learned on your own through may be trial and error and realizing, after working for a couple of years that if you put your attention on the client. It would come back to you Or did you have mentors or someone that helped you kind of think through the long term vision?
spk_1: 5:13
I mean, I think it goes back to some early educational influences. That opportunity that I had that really put my focus on the why I think the very best of education cultivates the kind of curiosity about why Wow. Okay, this is this is what we do, and this is how we do it. But why do we do it? And what is their basic purpose and aligning ones like, uh, daily life? Our family life are our work in the community, but also our work in different employment settings with the purpose of that organization, its mission. What it's trying to achieve, what it's trying to contribute. Uh, it's something that I've learned to be absolutely essential azan ingredient to being able to perform well within the contours of that institution.
spk_0: 6:13
So you mentioned a lot of about the why and the purpose. So I'm curious as we're talking here today, and it's the beginning of 2019. What? What is higher arms purpose at this point? Like what is your why of what you're doing.
spk_1: 6:28
Oh, they're really two major objectives that drive me on and the objectives go way back into my early formative years. One is that I was I always was always very challenged by new things that I tried. I I like to try a lot of you think lundy thing to do new things, but I was always really bad it than when I first attempted. And I learned that over time that I had a certain ability to work through those challenges and get to some level of capability in that activity or that discipline. And it was the joy of being able to overcome my own challenges. That I think, in many ways drives my commitment to education as a family is the most powerful strategy that we have to deal with our challenges and also to see their opportunity. So there were some things that I learned from my own modest daughter, died actors that I wanted to share with others. The second is that I grew up in a town that was very divided, and I had a lot of early experiences with division in the society that influenced me in profound ways. And I think my second life long commitment is to always look for ways to bring people together. And I see higher education education more generally being a mediums, and then you in which I can realize those do commitment I want to share with others the joy of learning and the power and empowerment that comes from overcoming obstacle to learn it. And second, to do that in a way that also brings people together and reinforces with social and intellectual skills and values that our society needs two solve complex problems through collaboration.
spk_0: 8:41
Bye, Lovely, you said about the social and intellectual capital and bringing people together. I think that is commonly a theme that that you wouldn't see a cz much from a college president. But I guess is that what makes Claremont in your eyes unique in some type of space are What are you guys doing differently or what do you What do you do differently to bring people together that's really unique to your university over other colleges? Country.
spk_1: 9:13
So the in one of the great legacies of crime McKenna College is that an institution that tried to bring the best in class strategies and higher ed together in one intense residential model, a model that was designed to bring the depth and rigor of a liberal arts curriculum together with long term professional and other types of no world objectives of leadership on then. 1/3 leg of the stool is really a tremendous focused on undergraduate research, so we're not a research university. But we provide more research opportunities for students than practically any other college or university in the country. 73% of our students do advance research with a faculty member, not including a mandatory feast. In terms of leadership, we have a very dynamic co curricular, an extracurricular program in which our students are encouraged to develop creativity, the the empathy necessary for collaboration and the courage, uh, necessary for resilient and tolerance that I think our leadership really, uh, called sport today and then finally. And most importantly, it's the intellectual training of being able to look at things that are more method, a logical level, not just come
spk_0: 10:55
so
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historiography, not just language, but linguistics, not just buying, but scientific methodology.
spk_0: 11:04
So are part of the new centers that have been created over the last couple years since you've been there, there's been three new center. So is that what part of those new centres about are those centers totally in a different area?
spk_1: 11:18
Yeah, well, everything's working towards the bait, the gutter line goals of making sure that our students are developing. You know, the fluency and literacy that they need at a basic level, that they're developing the qualities of character that need in our society and that they're developing the highest level, high value performance capabilities, like complex problem solving, increasingly collaborative forms of leadership that flat systems across division in a contest of controversy. So everything we do sort of hones in on those very high level objectives. The development of research labs or social impact Lapse is all about creating experience for students to take on major problems the way in which we train an effective dialogue again bill not just the emotional commitment to solving problems, but the real intellectual and social skills transcend difference and come up with common solution to the very difficult problems. Investment in our competitive athletics program also builds teamwork and running true, uh, at times learning true failure and learning the kind of civilians that are scholar athlete learned when they're trying to compete at increasingly hi national award winning levels.
spk_0: 13:03
You know, as as you mentioned a couple of these things. You know, one thing that you know, kind of comes top top of mind is was there an ah ha moment for you when you realize what this purpose and what you're why was I mean, it's super clear at this point what you're trying to accomplish in bringing people together through high end programs. But I'm wondering if there was something that give you a nudge in this sensor like there There was this time where you really recognized what your purpose was. And I'm curious how that came about because I think that that is the challenge for a lot of people is they work towards something. But, you know, it takes some influence for them to publicly say what they're gonna d'oh! And it's clear that you know what you're doing at this point. But I'm curious If there was a time that came to mind that you can think of where it became clear for you.
spk_1: 14:05
Yeah, there are many moments of clarity. I think you know there's not a single moment, but I'll give to really quick example. So one is that, you know, I talk a little bit about aligning our own commitments with those of others. I would say that it's really important to be successful, to get beyond one's own self absorption are solid. And I do remember when I was a fairly young 10 year contract, sir, I would ask by one of my former universities to co chair trans nationalization passports. And in my very first presentation, any board of trustees, I presented the strategy and vision, and I said very simply that it was, uh it should be our goal to a leverage, our research, teaching and service prowess to improve the human condition. And I remember one of the university leaders standing up at the end at the conclusion of my presentation and saying, Yes, but Hiram, what is this going to do for us? And I remember just being haunted by that question and feeling very strongly that it's that kind of question that actually undermine our ability to solve basic problems because we're all so absorbed on Lee with what we're bringing to ourselves. We're never going to be able to just being our society and water civilization. So that that that's one thing. Second, um, I remember from the time I was, you know, filling out applications, the law school, and then reflecting on why over so many years I dedicated so much time thinking about the nature of comparison or to work on large mediation before I tried to piece all that together and one of the themes that I found that explain in retrospect or explain maybe more inductive Lee, based on what I had done with that, in each of these instances, I was tryingto work through. Ah, basic question. That's that I've had for many, many years, since I really the challenge of the different conditions under which people live in the conflict, that adult from their interaction. And what are the strategies that our civilization uses to understand or appreciate those differences, but also to prevent, reconcile or mitigate the confidence? And I, you know, almost related everything that I've done professionally, too dumb version of or some teacher of that question.
spk_0: 17:14
It's interesting that that it's really the questions that have been asked you that's allowed you to think in the capacity that you have. You know, it's almost like if you answer the question that that someone asked you after you gave your commencement are your speech. If you answered it and you knew the answer, it would almost be suspect. But the fact that the question kind of resonated with you and you had to take some time to think about it probably allowed you to develop your own skills. And you know that I could totally see how that would train translate in tow. What, what? Your vision and what you think about for the future, Right?
spk_1: 17:52
There was a famous Nobel laureate who attributed his success in physics to his parents. And he explained that when he came home from school every day, they didn't ask of what Grady got me. Ask him. Is he? Did you ask a good question today? And I think it's so important that the to reflect on the importance of questions. Usually if we know the answer to a question before we've asked that it's probably not a question. Uh, the Chinese media graph for questions is composed of to basic radicals that you opposing doors and the philosophy of the video graph is that we opened doors by opening our mouths asking questions, and so I think that he probably should be talking a lot more about the vital importance of the questions. Then we do are about the answers for the particular answers that we think on the other end.
spk_0: 19:09
So I'm curious at this point. So how did how'd it had its hiring? More. How do you learn and develop at this point going for? Do you have mentors that help you advance your knowledge or What are you doing? Even I find that everybody that we have on our show, even when they get to the Mecca, the pinnacle of what they do and people look at them and success, they're still trying to grow and get better. So, mentors, how are you doing at this point? Thio further your knowledge on this?
spk_1: 19:38
Well, I mean, I agree with you. I think people learn from other people. People also learn from experience than I. I try to apply those axioms, do my daily work. I would say that I'm always looking for advice from, particularly from people and feel that aren't my own and I'm a very social learn that way. I love asking questions and finding out more about I think, that are beyond my own formative education. These days I've been spending a lot of time with computer and data scientists, scientists more generally to try to understand what's happening in the world of technology and, uh, what what our approach to that should be from an educational perspective when their technology is advancing in such an exponential way, and there's tremendous power to the solution that technology offers. But yet they're also very deep concerns about the speed with which that's happening and the lack of thought and reflection in how and what kind of impact that that technology is gonna have. So I've been a lot of time talking to people outside my own areas of expertise. And, yes, I've always relied tremendously on the gift of Avenger ship. I think that, you know, I've been tremendously lucky to have had so many great professors and professional met wars on people in my life. In my family, my wife, Priya, my parents, my older siblings, who always given me such great guidance and advice on feedback on what what I do every day.
spk_0: 21:34
When you have mentors and you have different people, you can ask and you know you learn in different, especially in social mediums. And you're you're always out networking and connecting with people. There's no limit to different knowledge and things you can learn about. You know, one thing that I think about when I talk to you is that I think that a lot of us, especially a lot of the listeners, we wonder. You know, I think we're missing under. We misunderstand what the president of a university or college really does with their time, because it could be about fundraising. It could be the curriculum it could be. The politics could be recruiting could be the speeches and influencing other people. But as a CZ, as I wonder, as the listeners kind of as I'm hearing you talk, I'm really wondering, like, what is your day to day life look like? And what do you do?
spk_1: 22:30
Well, it's all of that right? It's all that I mean, I think there are three major functions. One, of course, is to envision strategize, implement, execute it. You know what? What are we doing? Why are we doing it. How did they align with what the world needs? Second is to communicate that and to provide critical observations to provide imagine solutions that are rhetorical level on. So the communication function on I mean that in the broadest way of being available, leading and learning from those around me and then finally is, uh, building resources. And that means bringing resources to our program human resources recruiting, uh, through admissions through our human related human resources strategy, but also financial and other reputational source to bring it to us. But then, here's a very important qualification. It's to bring it to us so that we can act as a vehicle through which our community can make special contribution to the world outside our institution. I think it's his last objective that can often be for gotten or lost or, uh, this plate to realize again why we are here and what are blotter purposes and so everything I do all the minutia and all the high level thinking the newts on the blank sheet of paper early in the morning to the you know, the multiple back to back meetings to traveling, too. But proposals to the fundraising. It's all again fused to that broader objective of how do we elevate learning in our society to need the imperatives of our time? And how do we lead by example through Kremlin to get a college to do that in increasingly powerful and dynamic waves, learning from others who are also on the common?
spk_0: 25:05
I love it. So
spk_1: 25:06
normal parameters of that can.
spk_0: 25:08
I love it well, Hiram, as we begin to wrap up and I'm I'm sure that the listeners are now going to be really thinking about their purpose. And why is there anything else that you'd like to share or any other advice on? If someone's interested in learning more about Claremont McKenna, what they should be thinking about?
spk_1: 25:31
Well, I would I would broaden it a bit. And I would say to young people you weren't thinking about college. Well, even in college and thinking about what you afterwards I would say this. The world has certain frameworks and certain higher and certain pressures and stress points, and we all have to work within those frame ones. But it's also important that each of us own and develop our own framework. What do we care about where we want to learn and why what's important to us. How do we go about things in ways that are unique to the way that we go about? What is the value of that particular approach? And I think one of the challenges in such a competitive marketplace for a lot of this young generation is to figure out not only what the world thinks success and you adapt to that, but more importantly for each person in each community to figure out what detective for that person or that particular community, and to make sure that one's own framework is at least competing with the very powerful frameworks that the world has presented. And I think by doing that, one can become more intentional or purposeful, more healthy and hold them, but also ultimately more fulfilled and fixed up
spk_0: 27:08
well, Thank you, Hiram, for sharing that this has been a stellar oak mavens podcast. I'm sure Hiram will be tuning into Claudia G Areas podcasts. She is a neuroscientist speaking about general health and wellness, and since he's learning on new subjects, this is gonna be a new one for him that he may not be an expert or maven and yet in this field. But thank you for tuning in today. We can always to have you follow us on iTunes and on Instagram at Stella mavens, we empower you the listener, to take control of your life.